2017 Race Reflection & Future Plans
Bit late on this but the cat is out the bag and the final TCR results are out. 87th overall. Unfortunately, was hit by a 4-hour time penalty for riding on a band segment of road in Slovakia…
Either way I am satisfied with that result considering it was my first race of this scale. I know I can do better than that. Its almost a curse with these things that you can torture yourself training and racing and when finally getting there being slightly underwhelmed knowing that you could of done more. I know where I lost masses of time.
By the time I reached Meteora I hit a second wind and still had more left in the tank. Probably not what you should be feeling by the end of TCR! However finishing the TCR left me feeling an immense feeling of euphoria for several weeks afterwards. However what comes up must come down. I struggled with a bad comedown months after the TCR. Feeling a empty & alone inside. Drove away a few key relationships training for the TCR. I will enter 2018 with an optimistic and positive mindset. Enjoy Christmas and the Holidays with my family & friends. 2017 was a a grand year for me & I did a lot!
Last month I gave a talk about my whirlwind TCR experience at the annual Amersham road cycle club awards. People seemed quite taken back by my story, the extreme demands & challenges of the TCR. But overall was received with smiles and amazement. Have not done any public speaking in years and was good to get out and tell my story. With anxious beginnings, I got into when I started to talk about my 7day croissants.
Either way I am satisfied with that result considering it was my first race of this scale. I know I can do better than that. Its almost a curse with these things that you can torture yourself training and racing and when finally getting there being slightly underwhelmed knowing that you could of done more. I know where I lost masses of time.
By the time I reached Meteora I hit a second wind and still had more left in the tank. Probably not what you should be feeling by the end of TCR! However finishing the TCR left me feeling an immense feeling of euphoria for several weeks afterwards. However what comes up must come down. I struggled with a bad comedown months after the TCR. Feeling a empty & alone inside. Drove away a few key relationships training for the TCR. I will enter 2018 with an optimistic and positive mindset. Enjoy Christmas and the Holidays with my family & friends. 2017 was a a grand year for me & I did a lot!
Last month I gave a talk about my whirlwind TCR experience at the annual Amersham road cycle club awards. People seemed quite taken back by my story, the extreme demands & challenges of the TCR. But overall was received with smiles and amazement. Have not done any public speaking in years and was good to get out and tell my story. With anxious beginnings, I got into when I started to talk about my 7day croissants.
Getting plans & races ready for 2018 with no faff. Some of the main the main things that the TCR taught me was that do no take time for granted as it can be taken away from you within a moments notice. A quote I hated hearing at school, but is very true....
"Fail to prepare, prepare to fail"
So I have entered a new race for 2018. The Transatlantic Way. The bulk of race is around the west coast of Ireland. Its going to be its third year running. I am excited to build a new focus in training for the demands of this race. Ireland has always held a mystical feeling for me. Although its not far from home, Ireland is a truly a world of its own. Distance of this race is about 1,500miles. Significantly shorter than the TCR. But do not be fooled. TAW is going to tough, wet & windy. I have great information from my training mate Sam Thompson. Who finished in a very respectful 11th place overall. Well done Sam! Great result.
The field for the race is already looking very strong and is going to be a competitive race. On top of that the route is set. SO no wacky route planning or horribly busy roads. It's mostly all a set track, this will create a much RACEY atmosphere than the TCR. Racers will be leap frogging more. I am looking forward to this new format and will defiantly prevent me from getting lazy! The terrain of of this race will suit me better also. Lots of short sharp hills in the rain. Similar to the lanes of Southern England where I primarily ride. Hopefully no unbearable heat waves will occur As the heatwave lucifer in the TCR robbed me of my afternoon riding.
Adjusting training I am going to be focusing on shorter harder effort during rides than consistently long 200km+ rides. This is a method that Mr. Hayden and other extremely successful racers have done. Building on my 10,000 mile base that I have from 2017.
I have signed up with TrainerRoad and putting my power meter to good use over the winter months and really build a strong engine. Its going to be an new & exciting but more painful method for gains.
The torture has already begun...
I have a small Tour planned around the Atlas Mountains in Morroco in March. However I am keeping information on that on the low down...
SO my aims for 2018 race season are less time faffing on phone, drink less lager & increase FTP by 20%. Others include· Top 10 in the Transatlantic way race around Ireland (or beat Sam T’s time :P)
· Compete in a few local Criterium races
· Join some local club group rides
· Continued to be disciplined regarding flexibility and core strength work
· Keep touring and enjoy the simplistic ritual of riding a bicycle without getting to carried away by numbers and stats!
